Hampton Jazz Festival: Jazz Notes

June 23, 1996|By Daily Press

DIG THE OLD BREED. While the Jazz Festival traditionally attracts a mature crowd, Thursday night's Roots of R&B show, had definite youth appeal. John Spruill III, a 23-year-old hip-hop producer from Virginia Beach, checked out Isaac Hayes' set and said he planned to return tonight for Luther Vandross. "I think young people appreciate the older music more nowadays."

Spruill has produced tracks for a Hampton-based rap group called The Dozens that was recently represented on a Sony compilation album.

He admitted that he was rather young when Isaac Hayes was first having hits. But he does remember hearing his songs on the radio. "I've always been into music."

DANCING QUEEN. Lilly Matt couldn't sit still as Grover Washington Jr.'s band cut loose on an Afro-Cuban style jam. And she picked a prime spot for dancing - beside a stairwell on the coliseum's upper deck, flanking the stage. "I live in Philadelphia, so I've got to love Grover," Matt said, taking a break from the boogie. "That's my homeboy."

Matt, a 52-year-old social worker, was staying with her best friend, who lives in Newport News. She's been to several Jazz Festivals. And Washington is always a major attraction for her. "Even though he's from Philadelphia, I don't get to see him that often. He's a very special person - poetry in motion."

BACK TO THE FUTURE. Washington's Jazz Festival performance included a version of "Soulful Strut," a 1968 hit by the Chicago instrumental group Young-Holt Unlimited. Washington said it will be the title track on his new album, due in stores the second week in September. "We've been working on the album about two years, and it's almost finished," Washington said.

Some of the songs will draw from ancient rhythms and melodies. "From the bush to the 'hood is just a step," he said during a post-performance press conference. "And if you're going downtown, it's just a half a step."

Washington's dynamic performance was a high point of the festival. His six-piece band kept the crowd grooving to a variety of styles - blues, Afro-Cuban, and the pop jazz he displayed on his hit "Just The Two of Us."

COOLIN' OFF. Before the show Saturday, jazz fans were trying hard to stay cool while waiting for the coliseum doors to open. Marie Bumper sat with a friend at the edge of the fountain in the arena's courtyard while her friend, dressed in white shorts and a polo shirt and baseball cap that read "Hampton University Golf & Tennis Classic," let his feet dangle into the blue water.

"She says this water's polluted. But I told her it's just from the Elizabeth River, it's not polluted," quipped Bumper's friend, who would not give his name. "I'm on vacation," he said. "I don't want people to know I'm here."

The pair had traveled from the Washington, D.C., area to enjoy music, shopping and golf. They've been coming for years. "The show is good, the atmosphere is positive, and the people are genuinely nice," the vacationer said. "And the community seems to come alive this time of year, and that makes it special."

POWELL REMEMBERED. One person sitting in on Chick Corea's "Remembering Bud Powell" tribute Saturday night had some special memories of her own.

Celia Powell, the jazz great's daughter, drove up from her home in Durham, N.C., to hear pianist Corea and the other members of his band - saxophonist Joshua Redman, trumpeter Wallace Roney, bass player Christian McBride and drummer Roy Haynes - play a few of the many songs pianist Powell wrote before his death in 1966.

"He'd written more than 100 songs by the time he was 25," said Celia Powell.

Corea was strongly influenced by Powell's legendary piano playing, she said, and the tribute "is being done out of love for my dad."

She feels just as strongly about the intensity and the dedication her father gave to his work.

"He was a selfless person who gave his life for his music," she said. "I'm devoting my life to keeping his memory alive."

(BARRY BARED. Though she was looking forward to Barry White's appearance on Friday night, Gloria Cheatham of Hampton felt a little bit cheated.